Baby Time!

If you missed our newsletter, we had some great tips for helping your baby adjust to the clock change. But need not fret, you could help baby transition smoothly and you can get more sleep by reading those same tips below!

Spring is almost here! Dapple has spring cleaning covered, but there are other baby matters that even our Toy Cleaner just won't fix. We might gain an hour of sunlight come March 14, but some babies have a hard time adjusting to the clock change. As moms we have encountered this problem every spring. So we here at Dapple turned to the experts for advice.

Dream Team Baby was founded by two sleep-deprived moms who worked with sleep specialists to create a proven approach, and now help parents and children everywhere get a good night’s rest! We knew these ladies would have some great insight for us about this topic. Here’s what they had to say...

If you have a more flexible sleeper:

• On Saturday night, simply put your child to bed at their normal bedtime. No pregame adjustments necessary.

• On Sunday morning, your child will likely wake up at the normal time - though the clock will read 1 hour later. In this case, use naptimes to help your child adjust to the new time. Put your little one down at his or her normal nap time(s). This may be a challenge the first day or two since it will feel an hour earlier to their little bodies. Help get them ready for this “new” nap time by getting plenty of fresh air during the day and introducing some fun, novel activities so your child is nice and tired by the end of the day.
  

• If your child happens to wake a little earlier than usual on Sunday, allow them to get up and start the day - as long as it isn't more than an hour early. But expect that he or she may be a little overtired by naptime. Again, try to put your child down at the normal naptime(s) (according to the new clock) - but let him or her sleep a little extra if needed. 15-30 minutes is fine - just make sure to wake them up no more than 30 minutes late or they will not be ready to sleep at bedtime.

• At the end of the first day (Sunday), try to help your child be dressed and ready for bed at the normal bedtime. If your child is not showing signs of being tired, it’s okay to make bedtime 15-30 minutes later (according to the new clock) and continue to refine the schedule the next day.
  

If you have a more “sensitive” or challenged sleeper:

• On Saturday, use your child’s nap and bedtimes to help him or her pre-adjust to the new schedule in 15 or 30 minute increments. For instance, a 1-3 PM nap and 7 PM bedtime would turn into a 12:30-2:30 PM nap and a 6 or 6:15 PM bedtime. Doing this homework ahead of time will give your child a head start on Sunday’s change, and you will have a whole extra day of the weekend to perfect the schedule before going back to work on Monday.
  

Please remember that all children are different. Some may make the jump in time change seamlessly, and others may take a few days to fully adjust. Just be patient and it will all “spring” in to place!